Wheelchair ramp



Sept 19, 1957 c; l.. JAvls 3,341,874

WHEELCHAI R RAMPl Filed Oct. l, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i irme/vifs Sept. 19, 1967 c. L.. JARvls 3,341,874

WHEELCHAIR RAMP Filed Oct. l, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Graaf.; 5a wv/.5

United States Patent O 3,341,874 WHEELCHAIR RAMP Charles Leo `larvis, 4165 Pine St., Rocklin, Calif. 95677 Filed Oct. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 492,194 Claims. (Cl. 14-71) My invention relates to means primarily designed to aid an incapacitated person in negotiating different elevations by means of a wheelchair and is especially concerned with such an arrangement that can be utilized in connection with a house porch, platform or other comparable elevation for assisting in the movement of a wheelchair, occupied or not, from that elevation to a different elevation either higher or lower.

It is an object of the invention to provide a wheelchair ramp that can readily and easily be applied to a structure already in existence particularly for use in conducting a wheelchair to and from the ground.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wheelchair ramp which is readily operable by the occupant of a wheelchair either from a position on the ground or from a position at a different elevation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wheelchair ramp that automatically makes a smooth and easy transition from one level or elevation to another.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wheelchair ramp having certain safety features so that a person utilizing the ramp is protected from injury and other people likewise are kept from possible harm.

A still further object of the invention in general is to provide an improved wheelchair ramp.

Other objects together with the foregoing are described in the accompanying description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan of a wheelchair ramp constructed pursuant to the invention, certain portions being broken away to improve the clarity of the disclosure;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the structure shown in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a cross section, the plane of which is indicated by the line 3-3 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 4 is a cross section to an enlarged scale, the cross sectional plane being indicated by the line 4-4 of FIGURE l; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross section to the same scale as FIG` URE 4, the plane of section being indicated by the line 5 5 of FIGURE 1,

The wheelchair ramp pursuant to the invention can physically be incorporated in a number of different ways and has successfully been employed as shown herein. The application illustrated is in connection with a dwelling or other similar building 6 having a platform 7 such as a floor or porch disposed at a height above the ground 8. Customarily the platform 7 terminates in a straight or rectilinear edge 9 parallel to the ground and strong enough to receive the ramp construction.

Associated with the platform 7 is a bridge 11 comprised of a framework, in this instance of wood, including a pair of longitudinally extending side frame beams 12 and 13 and an intermediate beam 14, all connected together by suitable cross members, such as 16, and cross boards 17 forming a planar surface. The cross boards 17 extend from one end of the bridge but terminate short of the other end thereof preferably adjacent one of the cross members 16, thus leaving a portion of the beams 12, 13 and 14 uncovered.

The bridge is particularly related to the platform for pivotal motion about a horizontal axis. This is accomplished by providing a group of butts or hinges 21 fastened on one side to the platform 7 and fastened on the other 3,341,874 Patented Sept. 19, 1967 side to the bridge itself, preferably into the adjacent cross member 16. With this arrangement the bridge can move pivotally between the full line position shown in FIGURE 2 and the dotted line position shown therein, this movement being a swinging movement about the common axis of the hinges 21. The bridge also includes a number of upstanding members 22 having rails 23 at their upper ends. These correspond to upstanding members 24 and rails 26 provided on the platform 7 so that there is a substantially continuous protecting enclosure about the platform and the bridge.

Means are particularly provided for elfectuating the pivotal movement of the bridge. To that end, a pair of posts 31 and 32 are installed in the ground 8. The posts rise vertically and are both substantially equidistant from the platform 7 and are approximately aligned with the beams 12 and 13 of the bridge, being just in advance of such beams. The posts are either solidly anchored in the ground or are provided with braces which engage the surface of the ground, or both. Illustrated herein are ground plates 33 connected to the upright posts and braces 34 connecting the ground plates and the posts so that there is substantial rigidity.

As a means for mechanically operating the bridge, one of the posts; for example, the post 32, serves also as a mounting for a winch mechanism 36. This includes the customary drum propelled through a belt 37 by an electric motor 38 mounted on a bracket 39 secured to the post 32. From the winch mechanism 36 a cable 41 is reeved over a pulley 42 mounted for rotation on a pin 43 projecting from the upper portion `of the post 32, a suitable bracket being provided. The cable 41 then is reeved around an end pulley 44 mounted to rotate about a longitudinal axis on the forward end of the bridge and preferably mounted on a bracket at the end of the side beam 13. The cable 41 continues across a central guide pulley 46 on the central beam 14 and then is reeved over an edge pulley 47 suitably disposed in a bracket 48 fastened to the side beam 12. The cable 41 then extends upwardly alongside the bridge and is secured to an anchor bolt 49 passing through the upper part of the post 31.

With this arrangement, when the motor 38 is energized the winch 36 is operated and the cable 41 is either taken in or paid out. When the cable is taken in, a uniform lifting force is exerted across the entire bottom of the outboard or free end of the bridge 11 and lifts the bridge. When the cable is paid out, the bridge lowers. Usually the weight of the bridge is sufficient to unreel the winch 36, although the arrangement can be such that motor power is required both to raise the bridge and to lower it.

Since the bridge has a relatively abrupt termination and since it is desired to ease or smooth the exit and entrance thereto, the bridge is augmented by the provision of a deck 51. The deck includes at least a pair of side members 52 crossed by surface boards 53. At one end the deck 51 is secured to the outboard portion of the bridge in a fashion so that a part of the deck overlies the otherwise uncovered beams 12, 13 and 14 of the bridge` The deck 51 is sufficiently long to extend well beyond the ends of the bridge beams and to pass between the posts 31 and 32, being a-pproximately guided and confined thereby.

With this portion of the structure, when the cable 41 is relaxed and the free ends of the beams 12, 13 and 14 rest upon the ground in their lowermost position, the deck swings about the axis of the hinge group 54 and itself rests on the ground at its forward end, thus affording a slighter angle of approach to the bridge itself. Furthermore, the deck, being disposed between the posts, serves as a guide for the remaining part of the structure. The deck is provided with means for limiting the travel of a wheelchair and so preventing accidents. At its outer end the deck is connected to an apron 61 having side beams 62 of triangular form to rest on the ground with broad contact. The side beams 62 are connected through a group of hinges 63 to the outboard end of the deck 51. Usually the apron and the deck when they are in working position are at the same angle. This means that a wheelchair leaving the ramp engages the ground or a Wheelchair rolls onto the ramp from the ground with little or no shock or jolt.

So that a safety feature will be provided and so that it will not be possible to run oft" the end Iof the deck when the deck is above the ground, the apron is arranged to be pivoted about the axis of the group of hinges 63 from the aligned position shown in full lines in FIGURE 2 into the inclined position shown in dotted lines therein.

For that reason and also to act partly as a lateral enclosure, the deck is provided at each side with a suitable rail 66 at one end secured to the deck adjacent the hinges 63 and at the other end secured to the deck near the center portion thereof and in the portion near the posts 31 and 32. Mounted on the railing 66 is a sheave 67 over which a cable 68 is trained. One end of the cable is secured to an eyelet 69 fastened onto the apron 61, Whereas the other end of the cable 68 is passed over a pulley 71 mounted on the side of the deck, particularly on the beam 52 thereof, and is then fastened to an eyelet 72 secured to the forward edge of the adjacent post 31 or 32. With this arrangement and while the cable 68 is approximately slack when the apron is in contact with the ground, When the bridge is raised the bridge beams then encounter and lift the deck and as the deck rises the pulleys or sheaves 67 and 71 rise therewith. This pulls in the cable 68 so that the apron 61 is rotated about the axis of the group of hinges 63 into a substantially upright position. In this position the apron acts as a transverse barrier across the end of the deck so that if a wheelchair is wheeled out onto the deck it cannot by accident be wheeled over the end thereof since the apron becomes a barrier or stop therefor.

The weight of the apron 61 may not alone be enough to restore the apron to its lowerrnost position when the bridge is lowered and when the cable 68 is slackened by lowering of the deck. I therefore provide, particularly as shown in FIGURE 5, a pair of spring anchors 81 and 82 in the deck and the apron respectively and connect them by coil springs 83. The springs tend to keep the deck and the apron in alignment with the supporting structures in abutment. The springs are strong enough to make sure that the cable 68 is drawn taut and the apron is aligned with the deck when the parts are in their lowermost position.

Appropriately to control the motor 38, there is provided on the post 31, preferably on part of a housing 91 enclosing the electrical parts, a control switch 92 accessible to a user either standing on the ground alongside the structure or occupying a wheelchair on the deck. When the switch button 92 is suitably actuated, the motor 38 is energized, for example, to lower the structure. The energization of the motor continues until such time as a limit switch 93 (FIGURE 3) mounted on the connecting beams 94 joined to the two posts 31 and 32 is encountered by the lowering bridge structure. When the deck beam 52 actuates the limit switch 93, energization of the motor 38 is interrupted. When the bridge is subsequently to be raised, the manual switch 92 is again actuated in a corresponding direction either by a person standing alongside or by a person in a wheelchair 011 the, deck,

What is claimed is:

1. A wheelchair ramp comprising a platform elevated above the ground, a pair of posts opstanding from the ground and spaced from said platform, a bridge extending from said platform and toward said posts, means for hinging one end of said bridge to said platform, a winch mounted on one of said posts, a cable connected to the other of said posts and underlying said bridge and fastened to said winch, a deck, means for hinging one end of said deck to said bridge, an apron, means for hinging one end of said apron to said deck, a pair of pulleys on said deck, a cable trained over said pulleys, and means for fastening one end of said cable to said apron and the other end of said cable to one of said posts.

2. A wheelchair ramp comprising a platform elevated above the ground, a pair of posts upstanding from the ground and spaced from said platform, a bridge extending Y from said platform and toward said posts, said bridge including a pair of projecting support beams, a winch mounted on one of said posts, pulleys on said support beams, a cable connected to the other of said posts and reeved over said pulleys and fastened to said winch, a deck disposed in part to overlie said beams, one group of hinges connecting one end of said deck to said bridge, an apron, another group of hinges connecting one end of said apron to the other end of said deck, a cable, and means for engaging said cable with one of said posts and with said deck and with said apron to rotate said apron on said other group of hinges with respect to said deck when said deck is raised and lowered with respect to said posts.

3. A wheelchair ramp as in claim 2 in which said winch is electrically operated and including an electric switch for controlling said Winch mounted on one of said posts.

4. A wheelchair ramp as in claim 3 in which electrical switches are located above and below said deck for shutting olf said winch when said deck is in an extreme upper position and is in an extreme lower position.

5. A wheelchair ramp comprising a substantially level platform elevated above the ground, a pair of posts upstanding from the ground and substantially equidistant from said platform, a bridge extending from said platform toward said posts, a group of hinges connecting said bridge with said platform, a deck, another group of hinges connecting said deck at one end to one end of said bridge, an apron, an additional group of hinges connecting said apron at one end to the other end of said deck, means interconnecting said posts and said bridge for raising and lowering said bridge, and means interconnecting said apron and said posts for raising and lowering said apron as said bridge raises and lowers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,249,719 12/1917 Cherry 14-71 1,364,764 l/1921 Howell 14-71 1,905,947 4/1933 Morgan 14-71 2,677,141 5/1954 Senn 14-71 3,027,580 4/ 1962 Haack 14-72 3,030,645 4/1962 Shaw 14-72 3,176,334 4/1965 Lovdahl 14-71 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

N. C. BYERS, Assistant Examiner, 

2. A WHEELCHAIR RAMP COMPRISING A PLATFORM ELEVATED ABOVE THE GROUND, A PAIR OF POSTS UPSTANDING FROM THE GROUND AND SPACED FROM SAID PLATFORM, A BRIDGE EXTENDING FROM SAID PLATFORM AND TOWARD SAID POSTS, SAID BRIDGE INCLUDING A PAIR OF PROJECTING SUPPORT BEAMS, A WINCH MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID POSTS, PULLEYS ON SAID SUPPORT BEAMS, A CABLE CONNECTED TO THE OTHER OF SAID POSTS AND REEVED OVER SAID PULLEYS AND FASTENED TO SAID WINCH, A DECK DISPOSED IN PART TO OVERLIE SAID BEAMS, ONE GROUP OF HINGES CONNECTING ONE END OF SAID DECK TO SAID BRIDGE, AN APRON, ANOTHER GROUP OF HINGES CONNECTING ONE END OF SAID APRON TO THE OTHER END OF SAID DECK, A CABLE, AND MEANS FOR ENGAGING AND WITH SAID APRON TO ROTATE SAID APRON WITH SAID DECK AND WITH SAID APRON TO ROTATE SAID APRON ON SAID OTHER GROUP OF HINGES WITH RESPECT TO SAID DECK WHEN SAID DECK IS RAISED AND LOWERED WITH RESPECT TO SAID POSTS. 